Contents

History

The first Afghan cameleers arrived in Melbourne in June 1860, when three men arrived with a shipment of 24 camels for the Burke and Wills expedition.[2] Afghans without camels are reported to have reached Australia as early as 1838.[3] Prior to the building of railways and the widespread adoption of motor vehicles, camels were the primary means of bulk transport in the Outback, where the climate was too harsh for horses and other beasts of burden. After their use was superseded by modern transport, some cameleers released their camels into the wild, and a large population of feral camels remains from this time. From 1850-1900, Afghani camel handlers played an important part in opening up Central Australia, helping in building of telegraph and railway lines. They also helped the growth of Muslims in Australia before 1850.

Impact

Even though the Afghans' help was greatly appreciated they were also subject to discrimination because of their religion and appearance, and because of the competition they provided to European bullock teamsters.[2] Many of those European competitors were also cameleers and in 1903 a European camel train proprietor of Wilcannia replaced all of his Afghan camel drivers with Europeans.[4]

The passenger train which travels between Adelaide and Darwin is known as "The Ghan" (formerly The Afghan Express) as a tribute to the service the Afghans provided to the areas through which the train travels.[5] The total number of Afghans to settle in Australia was approximately 3,000, with over 2,000 arriving between 1870 and 1900.[2]

Establishment of mosques

At Marree, an important junction of the camel trade, the Afghan cameleers built the earliest mosque in Australia in 1861,[2] but this subsequently fell into disuse and was demolished. Over time as some members of the Afghan community prospered through trade and camel breeding, they contributed towards the building of the oldest permanent mosque in Australia, in Adelaide in 1888–89,[6] as well as the Perth mosque, which dates from 1905.[7]